The present invention relates generally to apparatus for cooking foods on an automated basis utilizing a conveyor arrangement for transporting foods through a heated cooking area and, more particularly, relates to a novel apparatus by which food products may be cooked on a conveyorized basis simultaneously on two opposed sides of the food product in a griddle-like manner.
Conventional efforts toward the development of improved food preparation techniques in the food service industry, especially in regard to the so-called "fast-food" restaurant business, have been directed increasingly toward the continual reduction of the time required to prepare and subsequently cook a food item, the ultimate objective in many cases being to prepare and cook each individual item upon a customer's order as opposed to serving customers items cooked in advance. Equal concern naturally is given to the need during times of peak demand to maximize the capacity of a fast-food restaurant for preparing and cooking food products in large volumes within a short time period. In turn, as production increases, the ancillary concern for ensuring uniformity in the quality of food preparation and cooking becomes even more acute than under normal conditions.
One means of addressing these various concerns has been to develop conveyorized apparatus for the automated cooking of food products, with the goal of increasing production capacity and assuring uniformity in quality with minimal need for supervision by a skilled cook or chef. As a result, a wide variety of various conveyorized cooking apparatus has been developed over recent years, each typically designed for a relatively specific form of cooking particular types of food products. Representative examples of such conveyorized cooking equipment are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,530,276; 4,667,589; 4,924,767 (see also related U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,563); 5,006,355; 5,086,694; 5,176,068; 5,206,045; and 5,336,512.
One type of food cooking machine which, however, has not generally been considered susceptible of fabrication in a conveyorized form is a conventional griddle. Commercial-type griddles typically are fabricated of a basic structure, sometimes referred to as a "clamshell" design, having a stationary horizontal food support surface, typically in the form of a flat continuous planar metal sheet, with a generally coextensive heating element (e.g., an electrically energized platen) situated immediately beneath the cooking surface, and a pivoted lid having a similarly planar continuous cooking surface with a cooking element situated immediately behind the surface, for pivoting movement into and out of covering relation to the stationary horizontal food support surface. In this manner, a wide range of various food products may be simultaneously cooked by direct application of heat simultaneously to two opposite sides of the product by closing the lid onto the food product when situated on the stationary support surface. Essentially any form of food product of a configuration presenting two generally flat opposite outward sides (e.g., ranging from hamburgers to sandwiches to Mexican quesadillas) may be cooked on such a griddle apparatus.
While commercial griddles of the aforementioned type function quite suitably for their intended purposes, and indeed are commonly viewed as being the apparatus of choice for cooking some types of food products (e.g., griddled cheese sandwiches and Mexican quesadillas), several disadvantages exist. First, the capacity of such griddles is necessarily limited to the dimensional area of the stationary food support surface and, hence, during periods of peak demand in a restaurant setting, average customer service times are typically increased. Also, the cooking of food on such griddles must be closely monitored by an attendant to ensure that each food product is removed as soon as fully cooked so as to prevent overcooking or even burning. Periodic cleaning of the stationary and pivoting griddle surfaces is necessary when preparing products which render grease or other juices or may tend to ooze or seep (such as cheese-containing products).